THE mother and sister of murdered bookkeeper Suzanne Pilley have made an emotional appeal to recover her remains almost eight years after her disappearance.

The 38-year-old vanished after setting off for work in central Edinburgh in May 2010.

Colleague David Gilroy was convicted of her murder two years later and is currently serving a life sentence. Jurors found he had killed her at their office building or elsewhere.

During his trial, prosecutors said Gilroy, who had previously been in a relationship with Ms Pilley, had left her in a “lonely grave” in Argyll.

The National:

Though detectives used CCTV and mobile phone records to track Gilroy’s movements from Edinburgh to Argyll after Ms Pilley vanished, they have been unable to find her body. It is thought that Gilroy, now 55, used a site somewhere between Lochgilphead and Inverary due to gaps in his mobile signal.

It is believed he turned the handset off while choosing a location.

Yesterday the 38-year-old’s mother Sylvia and sister Gail made an emotional appeal to the public for help to give her a funeral.

Speaking just days after what would have been Ms Pilley’s 46th birthday, older sibling Gail said: “Every time she’s mentioned, you struggle with the fact she’s not been found.

“It’s hard to think about her because we just don’t know where she is and that’s the first thought that comes into your head when she’s mentioned is just, ‘where are you?’

“She wasn’t treated with any dignity in her death, she was discarded and we just do not know where she is.

“That is just sometimes unbearable but we have to move forward and I would love to be able to just give her that funeral, that dignity that every person deserves.”

Mother Sylvia added: “I feel, and my husband feels, that it’s as if she didn’t matter, and she’s gone and we can’t do anything about it.

“We have to rely on the public if they’re out and about in that area, maybe dog walkers, and we’ve been fortunate with the forestry workers who’ve been very good. Any position that looks as if it’s been disturbed, they notify the police and we’re very grateful for that because we hope that one day she will be found.”

Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston said: “Considerable searches have been carried out in Argyll but have sadly turned up nothing.

“Whilst David Gilroy continues to maintain he is innocent, the only avenue left open at this time is a new piece of information from a member of the public.

“The gaps in Gilroy’s journey, and the foliage and debris on his car, tell us that he went off-road somewhere near to the Rest and Be Thankful, so anyone who was in that area on May 5, 2010 and could have seen or heard something that might be the missing link in our investigation.

“Equally, I would appeal to anyone who may be walking or camping in the Argyll forest and may notice anything unusual.”